2019 Silverado Diesel: Will Be “Best-Performing Diesel” Half-Ton

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Yes, a half-ton 2019 Silverado diesel is coming. That much we already know thanks to Chevy’s official announcement on Saturday. We also know that the diesel motor that will be available in the new Silverado 1500 will be an all-new 3.0L Duramax in an inline-six configuration and that it will be mated to the new GM 10-speed automatic transmission. But that’s about where the official details end, and reading the tea leaves begins.

Luckily, we have quite an important detail about the 2019 Silverado diesel thanks to GM product chief Mark Reuss, who stated that the oil burner will be class-leading during the reveal of the 2019 Silverado 1500.

“Now I’m not going to go into the numbers today, but some of our competition has already given their numbers on their new diesel, and I am really confident that we’ll have the best-performing diesel in this segment”, Reuss said during his presentation.

In citing the competition, Reuss is referring to Ford – which last week announced that its new 3.0L V-6 PowerStroke diesel slated for the 2018 F-150 will make 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque, enabling the truck to attain 30 miles per gallon on the highway. The figures are superior to those of the Ram EcoDiesel.

That means that in order for GM’s new 3.0L Duramax Diesel to be undisputedly class-leading, it would need to make more than 250 horsepower and 440 pound-feet of torque of the PowerStroke.

Vitals: 2018 Ram EcoDiesel vs. 2018 Ford F-150

Truck:

2018 Ram 1500 EcoDiesel

2018 Ford F-150 Diesel

Engine:

3.0L V-6 EcoDiesel

3.0L V-6 PowerStroke

Power @ RPM:

240 @ 3600

250 @ 3250

Torque @ RPM

420 @ 2000

440 @ 1750

Fuel Economy (CITY / HWY):

21 / 29

TBD / 30

We should know more about the 2019 Silverado diesel and the new Duramax I-6 engine over the next several weeks. In the meantime, stay tuned to GM Authority for around-the-clock Silverado news coverage.

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28 Comments

This reveal was really quite a letdown. I’m a Chev/GMC guy through and through but this launch was truly pathetic compared to what the Ram team was able to do. Not only did the Ram team allow some members of the press to have a one-on-one with the design team prior to releasing the truck, but they also brought us THE NUMBERS. Chevy basically said “hey! look at this shiny new truck we made! Oh, but we’re not going to tell you anything about it other than basic information.” What’s the point of a reveal if you’re not going to tell us anything about the truck. We already knew that they were bringing out a diesel. We already knew it would have rear heated seats and blah blah blah. We already knew they were bringing out 8 models. TELL ME SOMETHING I DON’T ALREADY KNOW! Not to mention that the Ram is available for order next week whereas the Chev isn’t available for 6 months or more.

Well, it’s quite normal for automakers not to give out final numbers on vehicles during their debut and there’s a couple reasons why:

1) The truck is still in it’s final stages of development, so it’s very likely that GM could still be making small adjustments to the engine and suspension, even though we’ve already seen the truck. These small adjustments would have effects on horsepower, torque, towing payload, and mpg.

2) GM still wants to sell the current trucks. If they release numbers for the new truck, and they’re significantly better than on the current trucks, many people will wait for the new trucks instead of buying one of the current trucks now.

It’s not at all “normal” for automakers “not to give out numbers” during their debut.

In my ten years covering this automaker, never has GM not provided preliminary specifications on a model that has been announced… what’s taking place here is not at all normal. The specs have been first released during the announcement, and then updated as the launch nears, under the banner of official specs. This addresses the first rationale you provide in your comment.

The second reason you provide is not new, and has been around for as long as there have been new generations of vehicles. Not one automaker has any trouble selling out of their last-generation vehicles despite a new one having already been announced thanks to 1) increased incentives on the current models and 2) the fact that real-world buying patterns have consumers needing and buying vehicles TODAY due to various reasons such as necessity and lease expirations… most can not wait months until an all-new model launches in the market.

I hope they’re still in the final stages because the Silverado needs a little more ‘wow’ factor IMO. Ford and Dodge now both have panoramic sunroofs available. Where is Chevrolet’s?? Not GMC’s, Chevy’s.

Ford and Dodge now both have high end interiors such as Platinum and Limited trims. Where is Chevrolet’s?? Not GMC’s, Chevys.

Chevrolet’s interior design needs a little more sprucing up IMO. It’s not bad, I was just expecting something outstanding given this is an all new ground up model. And it’s not outstanding in any way. It looks pretty much the same. A few minor details aside that I didn’t care for on the front end (bumper meets fender area), they went in for the kill on exterior design. You can tell they at least really tried, love it or hate it. The interior and it’s options and trims, not so much.

Do we know when we will be getting more info on the three engines we heard of and the three we didn’t? Also there was more tech on the interior that they barley scratched the surface one. Kind of itching to get those specs. Any idea?

While we are talkings best performing Engine are they going to make the 5.3 the best performing Engine in its class? There was very little said about the 5.3 not even included in the 10 auto trans statement.

All we know at this point is that the 5.3L and 6.2L will be upgraded significantly compared to the current L83 and L86 motors. One of the upgrades is the Dynamic Fuel Management… we’re not certain of the others.

It’s also possible that the 5.3L will be mated to the 10-speed in some model configurations. We will need to wait to find out for sure.

Compared to other Auto manufacturers GM needs to fix and upgrade its P/R Dept. GM is producing quality products, but GM P/R isn’t using the awards the products have won. I have a 2015 Impala and a 2016 Silverado

GM commercials need to point out the strength of its vehicles compared to the competition. That way if the comparison fall short they know what need fixing then fix it. Ther are too many instances where GM let their vehicle that may not be the best seller in their class but maby third or so die on the vine instead of upgrading to become number one.

Any time you see this kind of competition between manufacturers it is great for the consumer! I think both Ram and Chevy have brought some pretty cool product to the marketplace for 2019 and the winner is the buyer!

My hunch is we’ll get the numbers when the Sierra drops cover in the near future. They have to leave a little meat on the bone. I can’t imagine GM would be last to the party on the updated trucks and not have anything to show for it.

If the omissions of the specs on a pre-production vehicle is enough to make someone abandon the Chevy Truck ship for Ford or Dodge, they were never really a customer to begin with.

Ya know, I am a true Chevy/GM guy, personally I would never buy anything non-GM.

BUT…

While I do think this new Silverado, is miles ahead of the current gen, I have to say RAM already outdid Chevy. RAM has heated and COOLED REAR seats. RAM has a panoramic sunroof. RAM has a 19 speaker audio system. And IMHO, RAM is now the best looking of the big 3.

Now we don’t know anything about the GMC yet, and it very well could have all of these things and more, and while I personally would never buy a RAM for one reason (Hockey puck shifter), I have to admit defeat (so far).

I’m so glad we finally got a diesel though, now we just need one in the Suburban.

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Journalist need to quit reporting inaccurate info regarding the previously-sold Ram Ecodiesel. Number one, the only new Ram Ecodiesel units that can legally be sold are the one’s that were built prior to the ban and are currently already on dealer lots as 2017s and before models. Moreover, those units that are currently for sale have new software installed, and they are no longer rated at 21/29 /24 as reported here. The new rating, according to fueleconomy.gov, for the existing trucks with the Ecodiesel is 20/27/23; only barely beating out the best mileage F150; the 2.7L Ecoboost, standard duty, 2WD, stands at 20/26/22, which meets or beats currently any gas-powered pickup; full size or mid size. Moreover, Ram officials recently announced that when the 2019 model arrives, it will have only the 3.6L Penstar with the 48 volt hybrid system added standard as the base engine at the same peak numbers as today (305/269, peak hp and torque, respectively), the 5.7L Hemi at 395/405 peak torque; and an optional 5.7L Hemi with a 48-volt mild hybrid system. And, when questioned about the Ecodiesel, Ram spokespersons admitted that the Ecodiesel would not be back until 2019 calendar year. And so, if that’s the case, the next Ram 1500 diesel may be the inline version that’s being developed by Fiat right now in Italy; or it may be the improved version of the 3.0 V6 that’s going to be in the Jeep Wranger, but the truck/engine combination diesel that’s reported here, with those reported mpg numbers, is history. It’s no longer true or available.

As for GM’s diesel offering for 1/2-ton, there could be a very distinct advantage for the GM diesel versus the competition. Number one, this will truly be the latest and greatest engine of the three as it is not a tweaking of an existing engine, like the Ford PowerStroke 3.0; and it is not a sourced engine with a little age like the Ecodiesel sourced from VMI. This one will be 100% new and 100% GM. And if we look at what GM has done lately; the 1.6L 4 cylinder in the Cruze and Equinox and Terrain; and the 2.8L Duramax in the Colorado and Canyon, we should expect some big cost savers versus previous generation diesels. What GM currently has in the market, not counting the 6.6L V8 Duramax, are cast iron blocks and solenoid injectors, and strategy wise and for consumer benefit wise, this is good news, because the biggest hindrance to the market for diesel is cost. Also an inline engine hints towards GM’s commitment to design and build cheaper diesels that more people can afford. But the prospect for market entrenchment of diesel by GM’s current push ends with just a prospect, because, so far, GM has been offering a horrible value to customers with respect to diesel offerings in spite of their ability to get costs down. So what this amounts to so far is that GM will benefit with higher margins than the competition; not better value, and that’s a shame. Will it be a good engine? Almost certainly. Will it be affordable and applied correctly in the trims and configurations that a 3.0 I6 diesel best matches? Almost certainly NOT. Ford announced the trims and configurations for the PSD 3.0. Based on that information, the starting price can be no lower than at or about $46K MSRP, versus a full size truck that starts at $27.4 MSRP, 2018 model.

I just saw on Motorweek TV that the Wrangler 3.0 diesel is going to be 260 HP and 442 Ft Lb torque. That just barely beats the Ford numbers, and I would assume it will be about the same when they bring it to the Ram Trucks. GM will probably do some last minute tweaking of their 3.0 diesel software to out-do those numbers as well. Seems odd that all three are the same displacement…

I’ve read that too regarding the Ecodiesel, and that’s what’s so confusing. If the 3.0 V6 Ecodiesel is coming back for the Wrangler, why is going to be absent from the Ram 1500 until calendar year 2019 when that will be the most important vehicle to offer it in, since F150 will have one and GM will have one by Fall 2018 and the Jeep is basically all alone in that segment, at least until the Bronco comes back? Added to that, GM has announced they’ll have a total of 6 power train choices, and F150 will have six power train choices (counting the high output 3.5L Ecoboost in the Raptor); and Ram will have just 3 (3.6L Penstar mild hybrid, 5.7L Hemi, and 5.7L Hemi mild hybrid).

Now it could be that I’ve misunderstood what’s been said…That it may be in the Fall as a 2019 model Ram with the higher-performing Ecodiesel, and we also have to assume that FCA will get this diesel dilemma straightened out.

But still there is a back drop story. FCA officials have confirmed that Fiat is working on a 3.5-4.5 inline diesel engine for the North American, light-duty truck market to replace the 3.0 V6 Ecodiesel, and so one has to wonder if it’s going to be 2019 before they have a diesel again in a half-ton, why they wouldn’t just wait for the bigger and more advanced inline 6.